Delicious Pumpkin Soup with a Caribbean Flair

Keeping with the Fall theme, we present to you a delicious pumpkin soup with a little Caribbean flair that is absolutely delicious. Looks pretty good, too. 🙂

We don’t eat a lot of pumpkin. I really can’t explain why because we both like pumpkin. Although pumpkin can be somewhat of a pain to prepare with the cutting off the top, halving it and seeding it, it’s really not all that bad (directions here). It freezes well so you can have it throughout the year. You can also take your aggressions out on the pumpkin with a sharp knife. Just be careful not to cut off your hand in the process. 😮 Once again, I digress. Ahem…pumpkin is also pretty tasty and versatile. You can use it in desserts, like pumpkin pie, pumpkin creme brûlée, pumpkin ice cream, etc. You can also make pumpkin tea bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies. Then there are various pumpkin sauces that you can use with a variety of game, pork and poultry. Lastly, there is pumpkin soup. Everyone needs a good pumpkin soup for the fall. In many instances, you can substitute various winter squash for the pumpkin and get a similarly flavored soup. For instance, in this dish, you could easily substitute butternut squash for the pumpkin. The soup might be a little sweeter but it will be good nonetheless. It is a creamy, savory soup with a touch of heat and nice aromatic spice from the jerk seasoning. The sour cream adds just a touch of tang and smoothness. The pepitas add a little nuttiness and crunch while the cilantro adds a floral element. All-in-all, it’s a great Fall/Winter soup you owe it to yourself to try, especially while pumpkins are in season. This is what we did.

Ingredients

1 small sugar pumpkin, roasted, skinned and cubed

1 cup onion, diced

1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves (1/2 Tbsp dried)

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp Jamaican Jerk Dry Seasoning*

4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 lime, juiced

sour cream

toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for garnish

cilantro for garnish

Instruction

As always, first things first, roast and peel the pumpkin (directions here).

While the pumpkin is roasting, add olive oil to a soup pot over medium-high heat and add the chopped onion.

Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent it from scorching to the bottom (remember this is a puree), for approximately 8 – 10 minutes to heat through. Remove from heat and ladle into bowls.

NOTES: * There are various pre made Jamaican Jerk seasoning blends commercially available. When we were in the Caribbean last, we purchased some local sensing mixes under the label “Spicy Caribe.” It has a pretty darn good jerk dry spice blend we actually like a lot. Of course, it is now gone. So, if you want to make your own, the following is a very tasty jerk dry seasoning blend.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp ground coriander

2 Tbsp ground ginger

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp onion powder

1 Tbsp dried chives

1 Tbsp kosher salt

1 Tbsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp ground thyme

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp ground nutmeg

Instruction

Mix everything together and store in a jar. It will keep on the shelf for 90 – 120 days. If you want more heat, simply add more cayenne or find some habanero powder. Be gentle, however, and don’t set your family or guest afire. 😉

** Remember, the pumpkin is going to roast for 30-40 minutes and will then need to cool sufficiently for you to peel it and cube it so you want a very low simmer. Do NOT reduce the broth/base. If it does, add enough water to bring it back to its original volume otherwise you will have a very thick, viscous soup. Now, if you are the mind that puree soups are meant to be more akin to vegetable purees then by all means allow it to reduce. Personally, I believe a vegetable puree soup, such as this, is meant to be a little more viscous than a good cream soup or a veloute. It is meant to play on your tongue with a smooth, luxurious mouthfeel while tantalizing your tastebuds with all the lovely flavors accompanied by the little crunch of the pepitas. All of this will get lost if the soup is more like a vegetable puree. The choice, of course, is yours.

*** If you have pumpkin puree in your freezer and are using it instead, allow the base to simmer for approximately 30 minutes.

Excellent walkthrough. I know how long it takes to do all the photographing of detail, uploading, thinking, writing etc. Just to say I do appreciate it (despite being shamed by BL with all those pouring and dropping shots).

I am currently roasting an entire pumpkin and also it’s seeds. We both have delicious pumpkin on the brain. 🙂

Your seasoning (spice blend) is so impressive! Wow!

The recipe looks great, too – especially the lime. And I love that you used the seeds as a garnish (waste not, want not) – and roasted your pumpkin for great flavor. Lovely photos, as well. A great, warm Autumn dish!

Thanks, Shanna. The soup turned out great. It was one of those make it up as you go recipes so we were pleased.
We enjoy roasting pumpkins. It’s easy to do, provides you pumpkin for later use and freezes well. Inasmuch as pumpkin season is relatively short, it’s the best way we know to enjoy pumpkin into the holidays. 🙂

Oh, you are so right – freezing roasted squash or pumpkin is a great idea. The whole family adores love eating roasted pumpkin – on pasta, salad or even as a snack – we have eaten almost two entire large pumpkins this week. So it is hard for it to make it to the freezer. The roasted seeds go quickly, of course or are used in chocolate bark.

As you said, is a short season and one to be reveled in and enjoyed! Happy Fall! 🙂

Looks delicious, but I have my usual questions. Remember, I am learning from you Richard! What’s the difference between a sugar pumpkin and a regular ole pumpkin from the pumpkin patch? And what is considered “small?” Curious minds want to know… 🙂

Hi, Kathryn. There aint no such thing as a “regular ole pumpkin.” There are so many varieties of pumpkin it will make your head spin. Some squash and gourds are classified as pumpkin. Last year I did a post on pumpkin puree that goes through some of the various types of pumpkins – https://remcooks.com/2012/11/24/pumpkin-puree/.
Sugar pumpkins are 6 to 8 inches in diameter and are labeled as such or with a label “best for baking.” They have a firm, sweet flesh that is much smoother than that of larger pumpkins. Once you use a sugar pumpkin for your pumpkin pie you will realize the difference from the other pumpkins you have been buying.

Your pumpkin soup recipe sounds fantastic, Richard. I’ve seen a few recipes that have added a bit of spice to the post but yours is the first to use Jamaican jerk seasoning. I like the idea. As for that jerk seasoning, I’d much prefer making my own with your recipe than taking my chances with something off a grocer’s shelf. This was another great post, Richard, one I’ll be sure to refer to down the road. Thanks.

Thanks, John, for the nice words. Jerk just made sense to use inasmuch as it has some of the traditional pumpkin spices in it, i.e. cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, brown sugar. Then, it has the savory spices. It just seemed like a no brainer and turned out beautifully. We may even make it for Thanksgiving. 🙂

This looks great, except for the cilantro 😉 I’m making butternut squash ‘sformati’ (something like soufflé but not quite) tomorrow. I agree with Conor there are lots of nice photos in this one. Good job, Baby Lady!